Does Oral Minoxidil Cause A Shed? Please Answer

AnxiousAndy

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So im going to be adding oral minoxidil at some point this year into my regimen as im desperate for regrowth at this point and minoxidil is most effective when orally ingested. Will probably be taking 10mg daily and was wondering if there is less chance of shedding since im not applying it to the hair directly?
Im trying to avoid a shed, plus im also lazy so the 2x a day topical is out of the question. I do use topical spironolactone 2x a day already. Some responses would be great :)
 
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AnxiousAndy

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Did you even read my post?
I know oral is damaging but i honestly couldn't care less!
Only if propecia would work for me :/
 

relentless

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Hello mate, I've resurrected my eons-old account here to give you a hand.

I have been using minoxdil orally for about 3.5 years now, and have had some great success. Not mindblowing, but enough to say that I am better off now at 23 than I was when I was 19. I have experienced considerable regrowth, even at the temples (even though the hairline seems to continue to recede albeit at a snail's pace with dutasteride).

My health is fine, my heart was recently checked and all is working as it should. Occasional palpitations but they seem to have lessened the longer I have taken the drug. I started with 10mg/day and am now taking 25mg/day. This is because I have found that a certain dose will begin to lose its efficacy over time, and shedding will ensue, until the dose is increased. The very maximum recommended dose is 100mg, and as I say my health is fine, so I have some wiggle room yet.

I did experience shedding at first, and as far as I can remember it was bad. However I stuck it out and I'm glad I did. I also seem to go through "periodic" sheds wherein my hair will look crappy for a few weeks and then look fine again.

I know the dangers of taking Loniten, however I was on the verge of killing myself if my hair situation didn't improve, so I'm more than willing to take the risk.

Any questions, just ask (if I remember to come back here, lol).
 

AnxiousAndy

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Hello mate, I've resurrected my eons-old account here to give you a hand.

I have been using minoxdil orally for about 3.5 years now, and have had some great success. Not mindblowing, but enough to say that I am better off now at 23 than I was when I was 19. I have experienced considerable regrowth, even at the temples (even though the hairline seems to continue to recede albeit at a snail's pace with dutasteride).

My health is fine, my heart was recently checked and all is working as it should. Occasional palpitations but they seem to have lessened the longer I have taken the drug. I started with 10mg/day and am now taking 25mg/day. This is because I have found that a certain dose will begin to lose its efficacy over time, and shedding will ensue, until the dose is increased. The very maximum recommended dose is 100mg, and as I say my health is fine, so I have some wiggle room yet.

I did experience shedding at first, and as far as I can remember it was bad. However I stuck it out and I'm glad I did. I also seem to go through "periodic" sheds wherein my hair will look crappy for a few weeks and then look fine again.

I know the dangers of taking Loniten, however I was on the verge of killing myself if my hair situation didn't improve, so I'm more than willing to take the risk.

Any questions, just ask (if I remember to come back here, lol).

Hello Relentless and thank you for your reply :) ive actually read your posts before on hairlosshelp! Im now also on oral spironolactone because no side effect would sway me if i could maintain or regrow my hair. Ive got a thread i made today to document my journey and will be adding oral minoxidil if i am not satisfied in the coming months. All the best!
 

mag

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relentless,

Did you go straight to oral minoxidil or were you on topical first? Can you give some details on that? Thanks!
 

Alk

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Did you even read my post?
I know oral is damaging but i honestly couldn't care less!
Only if propecia would work for me :/
Yeah i read the original post, obviously it would cause a shed like topical.
 

relentless

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Hello Relentless and thank you for your reply :) ive actually read your posts before on hairlosshelp! Im now also on oral spironolactone because no side effect would sway me if i could maintain or regrow my hair. Ive got a thread i made today to document my journey and will be adding oral minoxidil if i am not satisfied in the coming months. All the best!

No problem, and that's crazy to think considering I only posted a handful of times over on HLH. Nice to know someone got something out of it.

I eventually dropped oral spironolactone after about 18 months because I felt it wasn't doing anything for me aside from giving me slight gyno. Now my regimen is 0.5mg dutasteride/day, 25mg Loniten/day and I'm now trying the "No Poo" method which seems to improve the overall look of my hair.

relentless,

Did you go straight to oral minoxidil or were you on topical first? Can you give some details on that? Thanks!

I went straight onto oral minoxidil. I couldn't abide the thought of having to lather foam or liquid onto my scalp, and plus I'm prone to skin irritation as it is, without having minoxidil on my head.
 

AnxiousAndy

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No problem, and that's crazy to think considering I only posted a handful of times over on HLH. Nice to know someone got something out of it.

I eventually dropped oral spironolactone after about 18 months because I felt it wasn't doing anything for me aside from giving me slight gyno. Now my regimen is 0.5mg dutasteride/day, 25mg Loniten/day and I'm now trying the "No Poo" method which seems to improve the overall look of my hair.



I went straight onto oral minoxidil. I couldn't abide the thought of having to lather foam or liquid onto my scalp, and plus I'm prone to skin irritation as it is, without having minoxidil on my head.

Ive spent waayyy too much time on hair loss forums ive probably read just about everything on HLH haha. Do you mean you saw no halt to your hair loss with spironolactone?
I was under the impression you did?

For me so far im on 150mg and itch has significantly decreased along with a reduce in greasiness of my hair so im staying hopeful!

Where is it you source your loniten?
And one more thing, what Norwood are you?
Thanks so very much for getting back to me :)
 

relentless

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Ive spent waayyy too much time on hair loss forums ive probably read just about everything on HLH haha. Do you mean you saw no halt to your hair loss with spironolactone?
I was under the impression you did?

For me so far im on 150mg and itch has significantly decreased along with a reduce in greasiness of my hair so im staying hopeful!

Where is it you source your loniten?
And one more thing, what Norwood are you?
Thanks so very much for getting back to me :)

It has been a while since I came off spironolactone but as far as I can remember the combo of finasteride and spironolactone did very little for my hair. I suppose it's difficult to give an individual review for these drugs when I have used them simultaneously. There was no major reduction in shedding, etc. I think I may have had a degree of success in the beginning but that tapered off fairly quickly, and left me with a small amount of gyno.

Loniten is from QHI.com. Maintained at about a Norwood 2 for close to 7 years.

No problem!
 

KSA

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Ive spent waayyy too much time on hair loss forums ive probably read just about everything on HLH haha. Do you mean you saw no halt to your hair loss with spironolactone?
I was under the impression you did?

For me so far im on 150mg and itch has significantly decreased along with a reduce in greasiness of my hair so im staying hopeful!

Where is it you source your loniten?
And one more thing, what Norwood are you?
Thanks so very much for getting back to me :)

Hi! Are you still on oral minoxidil? I've been on it for about 40 days and the shed is traumatizing. Seriously reconsidering going back to topical.
 

bluecyclone

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I started on topical. 3 month shed. Been on low dose oral 1.25 for a year. Think it causes some cyclical shedding but No sides at this dose. Planning to increase.
 

KSA

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I started on topical. 3 month shed. Been on low dose oral 1.25 for a year. Think it causes some cyclical shedding but No sides at this dose. Planning to increase.
Thanks for sharing!
Gosh, I used topical for 8-9 years with nothing to write home about in terms of sheds, gains, etc. But one month into oral and I have visible loss. I wonder whether I should keep up or slowly wean it off.
 

tomJ

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Hi guys do any of you purchase your oral minoxidil thru am online course where you do not a prescription? If so please share the details and method of payment. The more detailed the better. Thanks so much!
 

AnxiousAndy

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Hi! Are you still on oral minoxidil? I've been on it for about 40 days and the shed is traumatizing. Seriously reconsidering going back to topical.
Sorry for the late reply but yes I'm still on it. How is your hair now?
 

KSA

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Sorry for the late reply but yes I'm still on it. How is your hair now?
Honestly, I'm still paying a very high price for going off Flutamide as the telogen effluvium is intense, but I went back to topical minoxidil. I worry that the shed oral minoxidil induced for 2 months was too intense and really did take me from a thin spot to down right thin all over my scalp. Perhaps staying on it for longer could have helped or trying this when I was in a stable state, but tbh right now this just seems like a bad idea. How are you? xx
 

AnxiousAndy

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Honestly, I'm still paying a very high price for going off Flutamide as the telogen effluvium is intense, but I went back to topical minoxidil. I worry that the shed oral minoxidil induced for 2 months was too intense and really did take me from a thin spot to down right thin all over my scalp. Perhaps staying on it for longer could have helped or trying this when I was in a stable state, but tbh right now this just seems like a bad idea. How are you? xx
Its hard to say really. I'm still shedding and losing hair but maybe its slowed down a little? Dropping flutamide was a bad idea, you are supposed to gradually ween off it. Have you considered dutasteride?
 

KSA

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Its hard to say really. I'm still shedding and losing hair but maybe its slowed down a little? Dropping flutamide was a bad idea, you are supposed to gradually ween off it. Have you considered dutasteride?
I was under the supervision of a moron endo. A flutamide + Duta combo gave me reflex androgencity - not looking to go back now : (
 

AnxiousAndy

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I was under the supervision of a moron endo. A flutamide + Duta combo gave me reflex androgencity - not looking to go back now : (
Are you sure? What symptoms did you experience? I got RH too but from finasteride. When I added in Cyproterone Acetate it didn't help but it also didn't accelerate my balding further either. If you have literally no testosterone and DHT in your body even if your scalp did increase the number of androgen receptors there would be nothing for them to bind to. I think you are likely shedding from trying so many treatments in such a short period of time that you are experiencing hormonal Telogen Effluvium . Try sticking to a DHT blocker + Anti androgen + Minoxidil regimen consistently for a year and then see where you are at. With ZERO testosterone and DHT its impossible to go bald by male pattern baldness.
 

Retinoid

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Honestly, I'm still paying a very high price for going off Flutamide as the telogen effluvium is intense, but I went back to topical minoxidil. I worry that the shed oral minoxidil induced for 2 months was too intense and really did take me from a thin spot to down right thin all over my scalp. Perhaps staying on it for longer could have helped or trying this when I was in a stable state, but tbh right now this just seems like a bad idea. How are you? xx

I think sometimes we have to just keep with it and not stop. After switching to Rogaine foam I definitely shed more. Especially in the front I can pull where I feel a tingle/itch (also noticed after using the foam) and will pull out 3 hairs. My hair feels like I have less volume overall still but I just have to continue. My hair has always been thick and it is longer now so it hides the thin areas well but I probably have around 30-50% less volume. Sucks but we just need to stick with it.
 
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